


Holiday Spirit

by PhenixFleur



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Christmas, Established Relationship, Gen, Sweaters, edible glitter is a real thing, mabel is best sister, mentions of billdip, twin fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-26
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2018-03-03 15:20:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2855627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhenixFleur/pseuds/PhenixFleur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mabel notices Dipper is low on holiday spirit and sets out to cheer him up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Holiday Spirit

**Author's Note:**

> A late Christmas drabble that got undrabbly pretty fast. Oops. Note: the human!Bill mentioned here is teenage!human!Bill, and Dipper and Mabel are 14.

 

"One more here…ooh, some more silver tinsel here…"

Given the size of the Christmas tree they were decorating (average) and the size of the decorating team tending to it (two people), the megaphone was highly unnecessary, but Mabel preferred to use it anyway. Decking the halls was serious business, after all. 

However, there was the small inconvenience of still holding a rather intense fear of heights following one of her misadventures during her first summer in Oregon with her grand uncle, so she chose to remain planted perfectly on the ground passing ornaments and string lights up to Dipper, who wasn’t nearly as apprehensive about using the ladder as his sister. 

Thus far the tree looked fantastic, despite Dipper’s complete lack of input as to what went where. What he lacked in holiday spirit Mabel made up for in spades, gleefully issuing instructions while bouncing in place with enough energy to power the tree all by herself. 

Finally everything looked just  _perfect,_ and Mabel waved her brother down from the ladder, surveying their efforts proudly. “And DONE! Now for the finale…” She seized the tail end of the long rope of string lights, wielding it above her head with a cry of triumph. “Let there be light!”

She popped the plug into the wall socket with more enthusiasm than the action required. The bulbs remained sullenly unlit. “Well that was anticlimactic.”

Dipper sighed, leaning down to unplug the string lights. “It’s probably just a dead fuse. They come with extras, anyway.”

Mabel stood back, allowing her twin to fiddle with the plug while watching him with concern. Now that they were settling into their teens of the two of them Dipper seemed to be taking it the hardest, occasionally moody or disinterested in anything other than his near obsession with paranormal studies, although he usually could force a smile for her. The only time he acted like himself were during their annual trip to Gravity Falls every summer. The past summer marked their third, and the place was still as lovably eccentric as the first time. From their arrival to their departure her brother retained the sparkle in his eyes, traversing the woods with a certain formerly one-eyed dream demon in tow (she’d never bothered to see if Bill had conjured up another eye under the eyepatch he wore while in human form), recording all of their new findings to be added to his journal. 

Sometimes she wondered if he would just stay if the opportunity presented itself. He’d probably be happier. 

"That should do it." Dipper handed the plug back to her, his expression blank and unreadable. 

"Alright!" Mabel shouted, much louder than necessary. "Age of illumination, take two!" She nudged Dipper in the ribs, grinning. "You say it this time, bro!"

The smile Dipper managed was weak, but he did it anyway. “Let there be light.”

Mabel plugged in the lights again, bathing them in the glow of two whole lengths of multicolored lights that caused the ornaments and tinsel to shine as well. “It’s beautiful!” The star atop the tree was a jeweled number she’d dug up at a thrift store, one of her best finds yet. 

"Yeah…it’s pretty nice." Mabel glanced back at her brother, who’d returned to slump on the couch, staring idly at the glass of Mabel juice she’d whipped up earlier. He’d stopped complaining about the glitter and plastic dinosaurs long ago and just accepted it. 

Mabel sighed herself, leaving the tree and plopping down beside him. “Hey…you okay? You’re always kinda mopey now but it’s super mopey.” She poked Dipper in the cheek playfully. “Are you all out of holiday spirit?”

Dipper leaned out of her reach, groaning. “I’m just not feeling it this year.”

Mabel gasped dramatically. “But you  _love_  Christmas! Wanton commercialism, acceptable gluttony…Dipper this is the only time of the year when it’s socially acceptable to eat an entire batch of cookies by yourself.” She paused. “Okay, maybe it’s not actually socially acceptable, but who cares? It’s Christmas!”

"I know. I’m just…" Dipper trailed off, staring intently into the glass of ‘juice’, lazily doodling in the  condensation on the side of the glass. "Maybe I’m just growing out of it. You know. All of this."

Mabel’s face fell. She wasn’t sure how to respond to that. As far as she was concerned, she’d never grow out of the sense of wonder and excitement she felt around the holidays. She watched her brother tracing shapes in the condensation sadly. Triangles.

…huh.

_Triangles._

"Oh, I see." Mabel smiled softly. "You’re  _pining_.” 

That got a reaction out of him. Dipper jerked back, guiltily. “No I’m not!”

Mabel giggled, wrapping her brother in a tight hug. “Worry not, Dippin’ Dot! I am the undisputed master of matters of the heart!”

Dipper started to protest, but she was already gone, dashing off to see if she still had the yarn she was going to need for what she had in mind. 

The days towards Christmas normally dragged, but this year they flew by. Mabel didn’t see much of her brother then, holed up in her room working on her present. She was a fairly fast knitter, but an entire sweater, especially a complicated one, usually took much longer than half a week. Mabel pushed herself. If it was for Dipper, she could do anything, and she wanted to see her brother smile again. Even though her fingers  _were_  kind of sore. 

She finished up shortly before midnight on Christmas Eve, quickly wrapping her present and depositing it under the tree before falling into bed and winking out like a light.

-

"Merry Christmas, bro-bro!" 

Dipper woke up with a start, losing his balance and falling out of bed. Mabel peered down at him, beaming. “Sorry. I thought you were already awake.”

"Why would I be awake?" Dipper picked himself up off the floor, glancing over at the alarm clock on his nightstand. "It’s six in the morning!"

"I know!" Mabel clasped her hands together joyously. "That’s the best time to open presents! Especially special ones, and I have a  _super_  special present for you.”

Dipper looked skeptical (and tired; in retrospect maybe six in the morning  _was_  kind of early, Mabel thought), but he still couldn’t ignore her puppy eyes. “Alright, alright, I’m coming.”

He followed her down the stairs at a much slower pace, dragging his heels until she seized his hand, tugging him behind her. Mabel stopped short in front of the tree, reaching for the present she’d wrapped the night before and thrusting it into his arms. “This one! Open this one first.”

Dipper sat down beside her, methodically unwrapping the package as usual. And then he stopped, his eyes widening as he removed the sweater and looked it over. 

"Try it on! I kinda had to rush to have it ready in time so I hope it fits okay," Mabel said, suddenly feeling a bit bashful. Dipper complied wordlessly, pulling the sweater over his head, atop his pajamas. It fit perfectly, and Mabel had to admit she’d done a great job. The majority of the sweater was a vivid electric blue that she’d had to track down after perusing the yarn bins at the local craft store for an hour, save for the golden triangle with a small green pine tree at the center, both of which were woven with metallic yarn. It was simpler than some of the sweaters she’d made, but she’d wanted it to be just right. 

And it was, based on how tightly her brother hugged her. She was certain she heard a sniffle, followed by a “Thank you.”

Mabel leaned into the hug. “I’m sure he misses you, too, you know. And summer’s only six months away.”

"Yeah." Dipper pulled away, wiping his eyes. "It is." He hugged himself, gracing Mabel with his first genuine smile in a long time. "Hey…when we’re done…do you want to make cookies?"

Mabel leapt to her feet, cheering. “Yes! I thought you’d never ask! Guess what I found at the craft store while I was looking for your yarn? Go on, guess?”

"Edible glitter?"

"Totally."


End file.
